Swing Life Away
by xMiss.Rainydayx
Summary: Itachi is a boy who's been rich his entire life until his father kicks him out of the family. What does a twenty-two-year-old do when he's kicked out of the house? He ends up where his brother ran to, with no money. Through it all, Itachi meets Sakura.
1. Kicked Out

**Swing Life Away**

**Summary: Itachi is a boy who's been rich his entire life until his father kicks him out of the family. What does a twenty-two-year-old do when he's kicked out of the house? He ends up where his brother ran to, with no money. Through it all, Itachi meets Sakura, the girl who manages to help him get his life back together while teaching him just how wonderful life can actually be.**

**Warnings: Sasuke and Itachi talk and stuff in this one. There's no hate because they understand each other. Implied NaruHina, slight SasuSaku in the beginning, mainly ItaSaku. Year difference between Sasuke and Itachi is only two years rather than seven.**

* * *

Itachi Uchiha was known by every person in New York City. He was the heir of a huge corporation. He dated super models. He was also possibly the sexiest thing walking on the streets of Manhattan. There was a wikipedia page dedicated to him, even though, essentially, he had done nothing but be rich and date super models and wear expensive clothes. He got a new car every six months; the best sports cars from Europe, naturally, and most people doubted that he ever heard the word 'no' in his life unless he was the one saying it to his outrageous amount of fan girls across the globe. He was cocky, he was arrogant, and quite possibly apathetic. There was never any word of his making generous donations like his parents to children in Africa or whatnot. No, Itachi Uchiha kept every penny he ever got (not that he earned, considering he never really _earned _anything, things were simply given to him). He owned Manhattan. He thrived on liquid cash. His shoes were Dolce; his clothes Armani. He even managed to get away with rocker hair and a badass attitude. In fact, if anything, these traits increased his popularity, if that was humanly possible. He could have the world in the palm of his hand if he wanted to.

But, if there was anything bad to say about Itachi other than he had an ego the size of freaking Jupiter, it was that Itachi had very little experience with emotions. He had never been in love; a statement he never admitted to the public or his personally-detached family. Sure he'd dated super hot models and had one night stands with God-knows-how-many gorgeous women, but he'd never actually... felt anything for them. He was simply Itachi Uchiha, criminally gorgeous millionaire heartbreaker.

So why the hell he was sitting in his father's office instead of having amazing sex with some hot super model, was somewhat... less than comprehendible to him. Itachi sat their somewhat awkwardly. The chair his butt was planted in was a bit too small for his lean 6'4 frame. The fact that he was in his father's office just... irked him, somehow. His father's business, while being the source of all of his wealth and the reason he was what and who he was, made him feel uncomfortable, like he didn't belong there. Itachi took a deep, soundless breath and let it out slowly. He was acting fucking ridiculous, and he scolded himself for it.

__

Snap out of it.

"Itachi," his father said, finishing his signature on a paper, "we need to talk."

"About what?" Itachi asked, wanting this conversation to be over with as soon as possible. His tone was arrogant and apathetic.

"Well, we've been thinking about this for almost a year, since you've been acting..." his father struggled to find the right word, but then started over. "Your mother, the Uchiha elders and I have all discussed this and-"

"Get to the point," Itachi said in a bored tone that could be taken as mocking if one didn't know him. His father fumed, being some one who didn't know him. Hell, _no one _really knew Itachi. Itachi shoved the thought aside like he did every day, like it was a far away issue to be dealt with much, much later.

"We have decided to cut you from the family!" his father suddenly boomed, hands connecting with his expensive desk violently and he leaned over it to yell at our hero. "You do nothing but waste our money and put a horrible image out into the world for the Uchiha family. We are all sick and tired of it!"

"Do you mean 'we' as just you or 'we' as nobody?" Itachi shot back. He had never had a good relationship with his father. Ever. His father always expected the best of him because he graduated school two years early. Two years. _Whoopty-fucking-doo_. After that, it was all his father ever wanted from him. More power. The Uchiha family must have a perfect heir. Nothing can be wrong with him. Ever. Once Itachi had realized this last year, he'd been doing everything he could to be the exact opposite of what his father wanted: drunk, partying, possibly a sex-addicted. An almost empty page in the book of pop-culture. Itachi and his father glared at each other, his father's face becoming redder by the second. Itachi tried to keep his face stoic and drained of most color, but not to the point to where his father actually knew what he was thinking. Itachi kept his obsidian eyes harsh but blank, a clear 'bring it on' kind of look burning behind their apathetic nature.

"We've cut all our bonds with you! We took your money! We packed your clothes! We slashed all of your cards, and we deleted your page from _wikipedia,_" his father said, disgust mixed with an odd feeling of satisfaction. Itachi stared.

They were really kicking him out.

"Fine," Itachi said coldly, standing up to tower over his father. He always knew that he was nothing like his father anyway. Itachi thought of all the times in his childhood when he simply wanted his father to be there, to see him at school debate or to be there for one of his basketball games. But no. He never was.

And Itachi realized that that was what had gotten to him all along.

"All I ever wanted was for you to simply take time off and be there," Itachi said, venom and resentment in his voice, "but you could never get your arrogant ass out of that thrown you sit on, could you? Not even for your _prodigal _son." Itachi scoffed. "And yet you wonder why Sasuke ran away."

He knew the comment of his little brother hit home. Badly. His father's face crumbled. Itachi felt immense satisfaction in doing so. He slammed the door on his way out. He found a pair of his ancient beat up skateboarding shoes, his now-empty wallet and a duffel bag filled with all of his casual clothes in the hallway. All the clothes that had been Armani or even acutely expensive had been taken out. It left a few thermal shirts, one pair of sweat pants, three pairs of jeans and lots of socks and underwear. Itachi sighed. At least he still had his cell phone, because he paid for that himself with money he got from sponsors (though God knew what they were sponsoring for...). He slipped on a pair of jeans, changing from his suit right there in the hallway. He kept his dress shirt, tie and jacket on, throwing his shiny shoes across the hall and slipping into comfortable old shoes while scrolling down his extensive contact list. Now that he was sort of kicked out (there was no way he could, or would, show his face as a kicked-out Uchiha family member in New York City), he only knew one person who even remotely wanted to see him, if at all.

Sasuke.

Itachi pressed the screen, which then told him that he was calling his brother. He pressed the phone to his ear, swinging the heavy duffel bag over his shoulder as he started walking. His shoes were still just a little big; they'd been huge when he first got them at age fifteen. Itachi walked down the hallway as the phone rang on and on. He was just about to hang up when he answered the phone.

"Hn?" a tired voice said. Ah yes. One hour difference.

"Little brother. How would you like a visit from me?" Itachi asked, smirking. Sasuke exhaled.

"Hn." Itachi took this as a sign to continue.

"If I catch a train now I'll be there around five."

"How long is this stay?" Sasuke asked. Itachi could basically hear his eyes narrow over the phone. Itachi was already out on the street walking towards the train station. Some freak magazine photographer got his picture and he cursed under his breath. The story, once found out, would be all over the news, just like it had when Sasuke ran away.

"Permanently," Itachi stated, making sure he got the point across that Sasuke really didn't have an option. Sasuke groaned.

"No fucking way-" he was cut off by a female voice invading their conversation.

"_Sasuke, who are you on the phone with so early?"_

_"Sakura.... Go away, I'm on the phone."_

_"I brought you breakfast, you ungrateful jerk. You're sick as hell. You should be sleeping!"_

_"Fuck...Sakura, give me five minutes, okay?"_

_"Who is it?"_

_"Fuck no am I going to tell y-"_

_"WHO. IS. IT?"_

_"Itachi. Damn."_

_"Alright. Talk for FIVE minutes and then sleep."_

_"Hn."_

"Note to self," Sasuke said, coming back on to the phone in an irritate voice, "Never live near a girl who's a nurse and who fusses over you. Ever."

"I take it Sakura is living with you now?" Itachi asked. He dully remembered Sakura as a part of some part conversation they had had. It seemed that she had somehow been involved with Sasuke's life when he ran away. She, apparently, had been the one who generously offered for him to live in her basement during high school.

"Yeah. Her landlord was driving her crazy and her mother's gone, you know, so she moved into the house next door. She's renting a room there. She spends enough time at my house to basically live with me, though," Sasuke said, sighing. "Anyway, what happened?"

"I'll explain when I get there," Itachi said shortly. "I take it the 'what happened' means it's fine?"

"Hn." Sasuke sounded less than pleased.


	2. Trains, Cars and Tetanus

Itachi slept the entire train ride, something he rarely did (normally due to the stress of the family, but since that was pretty much gone...). He slept mainly because he found himself exhausted, but also so he could ignore the girls ogling him from across the cart.

Stupid fucking girls.

For once in his life, Itachi found himself fed up with women in general. The girls on the train were obvious; the other women flirty and disturbing, some of them old enough to be his grandmother.

Stupid fucking women

"Last stop: Akron, Ohio!"

Stupid fucking celebrity-status.

It was also raining, like Sasuke said it often did in Ohio. Itachi glared at the sky.

Stupid fucking weather.

He walked down through the pathetic excuse for a train station. There was barely a soul there other than him, a few drug dealers, and some leaning against a pole with her hood up. He could tell it was a girl by how she stood and how she was dressed. She stood at around 5'6, her slender (borderline skinny) frame leaning fully on the pole and one of her legs was propped up on the pole, the sole of her Vans pressed against the cold wet steel. She wore tight, distressed jeans, a heather gray tank top showing a bit of cleavage, and a form-fitting navy blue zip up hoodie. Her dark, deep red hair was in down in front, long bangs swept to the left side, but the rest of it was in a ponytail, must like his own, only her ponytail was to the left side of her head, hanging over her left shoulder. She had pale skin, possibly paler than himself, and bright green eyes rimmed with thick black lashes.

...Shit.

"Itachi?" she asked, walking over to him. Her hips swayed slightly in her step, just enough to make Itachi notice, showing that she wasn't as shy as her previous posture showed. She was also standing straighter, showing her full height of 5'7 and a long, ivory neck. Itachi kept his eyes on said neck before he looked her in the eyes, obsidian meeting jade. A small silence ensued, neither one saying anything. She was biting the inside of her cheek like she was nervous, and Itachi unconsciously mimicked her action. Her eyes surveyed the area, her teeth moving to chew on her bottom lip and her fists clenched the too-long sleeves of her sweatshirt.

"So," she stated slowly, her hands now in the back pockets of her jeans. She looked up at him. He looked so similar to Sasuke, but yet he was so different. He was definitely the quiet type, just like Sasuke, but he had a different facial structure. She could easily tell they were brothers. He stood far taller than her, 6'4, and had obsidian orbs that drilled into her eyes like he was trying to see right through her. She took a deep breath almost silently, something she had learned to do from numerous years of yoga. He looked back to her, eyes filled with apathy, just like his brother. However, she knew Uchiha men better than that by now.

"So?" Itachi responded, lifting a perfect eyebrow. She damned him for his male beauty but continued. Her job was to find Itachi, get him to Sasuke's house, help him find a job and get his hair cut so people wouldn't attack him. All within the two days she had off from work and evening job.

"Well," she started, clearing her throat slightly, "I'm Sakura, but I think you already figured that out..."

"Hn."

"Okay, well," Sakura said, now somewhat flustered and annoyed by his uncaring and impolite attitude. "First stop is Sasuke's house. He's home sick right now, but knowing his stubborn attitude, he's probably doing yard work or something like that. Second is my house, because you need a haircut if we're going to find you a job without them hiring you because they want your autograph. Third is finding you said job and fourth is dropping you off at Sasuke's again and me making dinner for you guys."

"Hn." Was Itachi's brilliant reply. He followed her to her old Camero with little emotion (if any). She jingled her keys in her right hand, hood still up. He watched her as she walked, and he found it highly amusing when he came to the realization that she had to do something constantly; not fidgeting, per say, but as they drove, she did little things. She rubbed her wrist at red lights. She glanced in the rearview mirror almost constantly, and she picked the nail polish off her thumbs as she drove, tiny hands either clutching the steering wheel like it was life support or beating it like a bongo drum when the radio actually played something good.

Her car was filled with random things. CDs littered the floor and back seat. She had two pairs of clean scrubs hanging up in the back, covering the side windows. A few packs of food: potato chips, an empty take-out container, and a packet of Chips-Ahoy chocolate chip cookies sat between the two front seats. He noted how skinny she was before, and looking around the car and how it was cluttered with things that should have made her gain ten pounds every second, he deduced that she had some sort of super-human metabolism, or that she was bulimic.

"Come on. I only have two days to get this done," she said, tugging on his shirt sleeve when he didn't respond the first time. He snapped out of his daze and grabbed his bag, attempting to open his door. It wouldn't budge. Sakura sighed in annoyance, rubbing her temples.

"Damn, it's stuck again," she muttered. "Get out this way. I'll have to drop kick it to get it un-stuck later."

Itachi was stubborn however, possibly more stubborn than Sakura and Sasuke combined. He gave it two good, heavy drop kicks and the door finally swung open. Sakura raised her eyebrows, blinking once.

"Huh. Good job. Usually it only obeys me. Even Sasuke can rarely get it to cooperate with him," she mused. Itachi smirked.

"I have my ways," he mumbled.

"What?" Sakura asked. Why did he always mumble? It was really annoying. She could never hear what he was saying.

"Never mind," Itachi said, a bit more clearly. Sakura pounded on the door, giving three good, loud blows to the weak-looking wood. To Itachi, everything here seemed like it was going to fall down any second. It was.... weird, to him. Everything in his old home had seemed so sturdy. Here, he felt like stepping on the large front porch wrong might send him hurtling into oblivion below. He looked around. A small park was across the street big oak trees towering over the three-story houses surrounding them. The sky was gray, but at least it had stopped raining. Finally, after three minutes, the door swung open, revealing a very irritated looking Sasuke. Itachi looked at him for a second, only remembering the fourteen-year-old who had run away from home six years before. His hair was no longer spiky or emo like before, but was down in a messy but very typical skateboarder kind of style. He'd grown immensely, reaching 6'3, only one inch shorter than him. It was obvious that Sasuke was indeed a basketball star at the local college, because he had the muscles to prove it. He was shirtless and wearing basketball shorts. Sakura seemed to disagree with this strongly.

"Why are you going around the house without a shirt one when you're sick?! It's barely sixty degrees outside, let alone in the house!" Sakura scolded, shoving her way past him, going into the kitchen. A few wrenches, nails, a hammer, a small tissue covered in blood sat on the floor, the cabinet open. "And you were doing housework? Damnit, Sasuke, I told you stay in bed!"

"I stayed in bed for awhile," Sasuke said glaring. Sakura glared at his arm, where a small trickle of blood came down from a cut just below his elbow. Sasuke glared back at her. "It was an accident."

"How many years ago did you have your tetanus shot?"

"Eight."

"Damnit," Sakura muttered as she started to clean up the mess. "Go get a hoodie on or something. I'm taking you to the clinic," she said, giving him little to no say in the matter.

"Like hell you are."

"Believe it, Sasuke. Get a shirt on. Let's go. I think Itachi can man the fort for an hour while we get your tetanus shot taken care of."

"I will not get tetanus, Sakura! And I will not go through with thi-"

Sasuke was cut off by Sakura's infamous death glare. Even Itachi had to admit it was pretty mean one. What he probably would never admit was that she looked amazingly pretty when she was angry.

"Get a shirt on. I'm taking you to the clinic. It's not the fact that you'll undoubtedly get tetanus that makes me mad. It's the fact that once you get it, yet again, I'll have to take care of you because you know zero things about how to take care of your health. And if you get tetanus, you'll be out for the rest of the season and whine like the bitch you're being right now!"

Oh, Sakura was good, and she knew it, too. The minute she said that he would be out, he ran upstairs like lightening, and drawers opening and shutting frantically was heard. Sakura sighed to herself, a small smile of triumph gracing her features, as she continued to put the tools away. It took a few seconds before she turned her attention to Itachi.

"Your room is the second one on the left upstairs. There should be sheets up there and a few towels. I dropped them off right before I picked you up from the train station. Hmmmmm," Sakura chewed on her bottom lip, thinking of something else that he might need to know. "Oh yeah! A few other things. Bathroom is at the very end of the hall, the silver remote is for the TV, the black one is for the DVD player. Sasuke has a PS3 but it isn't hooked up yet and incase some hyper-active blond guy with an orange hoodie comes barging into the house, it's totally okay. Just explain things to him slowly when he asks what the hell you're doing here. He's not the brightest crayon in the box."

Itachi stared at her and simply nodded his head, slipping off his shoes politely before grabbing his bag once again and heading up the stairs. Sasuke bolted down the stairs past him, shoes and hoodie now on.

"I'm ready," he said, wheezing slightly due to his current cold.

"You better be. I'm taking you to the bitchiest nurse I know," Sakura grinned, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the house before he could argue with her. She slammed the door and locked it, and Itachi heard his brother swearing all the way to the curb.

--

Sakura drove frantically down West Market Street, a string of curses flowing fluently through her thoughts as Sasuke brooded in the passenger seat, eating one of her cookies.

"I can't believe you were doing housework," she mumbled, pulling into the parking lot. Sasuke hned.

"Really, Sasuke. I'm so freaking worried about you. You've had this cold for a week now. You really should be in bed finishing up your school work or something."

"I finished it last night," he replied coldly. "You're not my mother."

Sakura absolutely hated him whenever he said that, because was such an ungrateful jerk whenever he said it. She was tempted to bitch at him and remind just who took him in to live and just who made him get into college on scholarship and just who cooked for him every day that they didn't go out to eat with friends since he was fourteen. But she kept her mouth shut, because even though he was being a pain in the ass now, she knew she wouldn't have survived without him earlier. In fact, she might not have survived without him now either, considering how much work he did on her car and how many errands he ran for her while she was at work. Still angry, but not as furious as before she parked the car and put a quarter in the machine. She practically dragged the youngest boy of the Uchiha family into the hospital, threw his butt down into a chair and signed him up at the counter.

"Hey Sakura!" Tenten, a co-worker of hers, said brightly, walking past, smiling. Her smile quickly turned to a look of confusion. "What are you doing here on your day off?"

"Sasuke hasn't gotten a tetanus shot in eight years and just managed to cut himself on a nail," Sakura explained, glaring at said brooding basketball player. Tenten sighed, shaking her head but smiling.

"Don't worry. I went through the same thing with Neji last week. Why are men so against doctors and directions?" Tenten suddenly, wondered, causing both them to think hard for a minute.

"I don't know," Sakura said, drawing a blank, "but I do know that after this I need to get home and help Itachi settle in."

"Itachi Uchiha is in town?!" Tenten shrieked. Luckily enough, no one had been listening to her.

"Sh!" Sakura scolded. "Don't you dare tell a soul. He got kicked out of the family, I think. He just sort of showed up this afternoon. At this rate I won't be able to help him get a job until tomorrow. Most places that have decent pay will be closed for the night once Sasuke returns from the hell of Tsunade's office."

Tenten looked at Sakura sympathetically. Her redhead friend always seemed to work herself to the bone. Nurse during the day, almost always covering some one else's shift. Masseuse during the later afternoon, stand-in nanny during the rest of her time for Sasuke, that ungrateful son-of-a-bitch. Tenten had never liked Sasuke, but he seemed to somehow make Sakura happy, so she kept it to herself.

"He's being a handful, I take it?" Tenten asked, considering Sakura never took people to Tsunade unless she couldn't heal them herself or if she wanted them to suffer. It was a known fact that Sakura's boss, Tsunade, was relentlessly evil to those who upset her favorite previous student.

"He's being more than that. He's being a total pain in the ass."

"And yet you love him like a brother anyway."

"I hate myself," Sakura groaned. Tenten patted her friends back, not daring to agree that she was stupid for taking not one but two Uchiha boys in. Tenten, Ino and all the rest of Sakura's closest friends agreed.

Sakura was going to have her heart broken by an Uchiha.


	3. Haircuts and Realizations

"Would you sit still?" Sakura grumbled, trying to cut Itachi's hair was neatly as possible. But the stubborn Uchiha just wouldn't stop moving, and it was driving them both crazy.

"If you weren't trying to slice off my ears, I wouldn't be so uneasy," Itachi bit back. He'd known her a week now, and she was just getting to cutting his hair between her shifts at the hospital and her massage therapy job later that day. She had an hour to work with, and Itachi wasn't making it easy. At all. The fact that they had had to wait a week longer than anticipated was bad enough; Sasuke had indeed, as predicted, gotten tetanus, but not as badly as he would have thanks to Sakura dragging his ass into the clinic and making him feel the wrath of her boss. Tsunade had been anything but nice to him, and Sasuke came out of the clinic an hour later with his ears ringing from her yells, an arm bruised from her slap when he just kept hning, and a very sore arm from a shot that should have been filed as an assault. Said sick Uchiha was sitting on the bed of Sakura's room, where the three were currently were, waiting for it to be done so Sakura could trim his own hair.

Sasuke sighed silently, looking at his brother and Sakura as they bickered just like he and Sakura did when they had first met each other. Usually, if he knew his brother at all, Itachi would have taken the scissors she was using and stabbed her in the neck long ago. But Itachi, Sasuke guessed, was in a lose-lose scenario. Kill the girl but walk around with half your hair cut off, or put up with the hair cutting but listen to Sakura bitch at him the entire time. Sasuke was entertained by both scenarios, as he should have been. But Sasuke knew that neither he or Itachi could really live with out Sakura. She cooked for the both of them every night or brought take out. She did most of the laundry [all of it except their underwear and Sasuke's basketball clothes, since she'd deemed them 'so smelly it made her want to hurl' in their junior year of high school'] and she basically tended every need they had once she had the time to.

"STOP. MOVING." Sakura ordered, using her skinny arms to shove Itachi back into his seat by his shoulders. It barely worked, considering how strong he was when compared to her. Her hair was in a messy bun and she was dressed for her night work: a mid thigh length black silk Chinese dress with slits up to her high thighs, gold trim and crimson flowers as the pattern. She paired it with black flats and two gold bracelets that hung on her right wrist. Sasuke's best friend, Naruto, often commented on how hot she looked when she came back from her night work. His comments also often earned him a beating from said temperamental masseuse.

"There. I'm done," Sakura sighed, anger still flashing in her eyes. She'd hacked most of Itachi's gorgeous black hair away, leaving it long enough to get in his eyes in front but keeping it a bit shorter and somewhat layered everywhere else. She ruffled his head and he glared up at her menacingly, wishing so desperately that he could kill her. She got this message and smirked.

"I cook and clean for you, and I might have landed you a job at one of my favorite diners. I called in a favor. Kill me now and you're possible future and life as we speak is gone," she said, as cocky and arrogant as Sasuke when he'd beaten some one at Mortal Combat on his PS3. Itachi glared at her harder before getting up rigidly, obviously pissed, and laid down on her bed as Sasuke sat down in the chair now and Sakura got to work on his unruly hair.

Itachi was seething. How could be bossed around by such a weak, petite girl? It was not because she was stronger than him physically. She was not smarter than him, at least not in things not related to haircuts or general health. She was demanding, Itachi huffed irritated at the thought, but deep down he knew she had every right to be. She waited on his brother and now himself hand and foot, buying clothes because Itachi didn't have money and getting him a job and cutting his hair and cooking his meals and doing his laundry. She vacuumed their house and dusted and cleaned. She even did the dishes by hand because the dishwasher was broken without any help what-so-ever. She didn't often complain, and when her anger did flare, she did have every reason to be that way, at leas after putting up with his brother for so many years. Having an almost exact copy of him probably wasn't helping her stress levels, Itachi mused.

"Ow!" Sasuke hissed, glaring up at her. Sakura glared back.

"Don't' be such a baby. Today a twelve-year-old kid came into the hospital with a bullet in his leg because his dad shot him and he didn't make a peep when I yanked it out and put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. He wasn't even crying."

"Liar," Sasuke mumbled. Sakura smacked him on the head with her hand and continued. Sasuke sighed agitatedly. It took a few more minutes before she finally finished.

"There, you wuss. All better," Sakura said proudly, admiring her work for a second [hey, she was allowed to drool over cute boys who just happened to be her neighbors!] before she got the vacuum and cleaned up the messed of hair that had collected on her carpet. Sasuke walked out of the room to grab a V8 from her fridge, feeling a suddenly ravenous need for tomato juice, leaving Sakura and Itachi alone.

Itachi noticed that the room suddenly seemed a bit smaller, possibly suffocating. Sakura was oblivious, or acted like it, anyway, and continued to put the stuff away. Itachi stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to get his gut [which had suddenly started to feel like it housed to very violent, hungry tigers] to settle down. It barely worked. The air just got so... hot, all of the sudden. It was weird. Itachi looked at Sakura, frustration rising. He'd only known her a week and yet she was already driving him insane. He was stuck in the house most of the day with nothing to do but wait for her to get home and tell him what to do. It was pathetic. What was more pathetic still was the fact that he found himself actually looking forward to seeing her between her jobs.

Especially if she was wearing that Chinese dress, like she was right now.

Fuck, Itachi thought. Double fuck, as Sakura bent down to get the scissors she had dropped. Thighs were exposed that hadn't before. He swallowed and looked away, pretending to be asleep. It was fucking ridiculous. He'd barely known her before last week. Then again, he hadn't had sex for two weeks...

The thought made him crash back to reality, hard. There was no way he was thinking of Sakura like that. No fucking way. She was just the only girl he had really seen and/or talked to for two weeks. That was it. Once he started his job and saw loads of other girls, he'd have no problem. He reassured himself with these thoughts and daydreams of ridiculously hot girls.

Yep. That was it, Itachi reassured himself, it was just with drawl. He was only mildly attracted to Sakura because he was going into with drawl. And after all, it was such a minor attraction.

At least he told himself that, anyway.


	4. Diners, Looks and Plots

This, Itachi told himself, was hell in it's most horrible form.

"Itachi! TABLE FOUR!" his boss, Josh, bitched at him. Itachi sighed irritatedly, swearing under his breath when he saw that it was a table of women age eighteen to twenty-four. He had only worked at this God damned diner for two weeks, and he was stuck waiting for all the crowded or female tables. It was ridiculous, really, because Itachi knew that his attitude towards the customers absolutely sucked. He was in the worst mood ever. He hadn't had sex for four weeks because, for some mysterious reason, he denied all the offers he got from customers at work. Then, of course, he would go home and mentally punch himself in the face over and over while trying to not stare at Sakura while she kicked his brother's ass in Mortal Combat, something only she seemed to be capable of. On the brighter side, however, Sakura had gotten used to his attitude, just like he had Sasuke's, and in turn, her attitude had gone back to what Sasuke called 'normal'.

Itachi deemed it anything but normal.

The woman had no off switch. She came into the house at six o'clock in the morning, showered and dressed for hospital work. She cooked a fantastic breakfast for the boys everyday, left it in the oven to keep it warm, and then kicked Sasuke's ass out of bed so he wouldn't miss his morning classes. She changed the towels before Itachi ever even woke up. She cleaned the dishes that she used and then she was out the door just as Itachi woke up and slowly realized that she was already out of the house and that, no, there was no way he was just having an X rated dream about a girl with a name beginning with the letter 'S'.

By five o'clock, she was back at his house, dressed for her night job and running around the house vacuuming, cleaning, doing laundry, drinking green tea, blasting music with her Ipod, dancing around, and cooking dinner, all at the same time. By six she was out of the house, catching the bus downtown. She'd be back in the house by ten o'clock smelling like strawberry lotion and rose oil from her job. When she got back, she made herself a cup of caffeine-free tea, rice or pasta, and some form of meat or tofu. It was about the only time he saw her eat a healthy and hearty meal during her seemingly twenty-hour day. Then, even as she ate, she'd fine something to do. She'd do more laundry, fix a pair of jeans or a shirt that he or Sasuke had decimated, play video games, watch something on the TV. Her energy could have been seen as coming from nowhere if one didn't know that she ate enough sugar and fat to keep her energized for a lifetime.

Itachi sighed, shaking the thoughts out of his head. Four weeks. Barely a month, and he was obsessed. It was becoming torture to be up at night watching TV and have her waltz through the living room, smelling like she did. Why Sasuke hadn't banged her, Itachi didn't know. He thought of his youngest brother as one of the stupidest men alive to not see what he had waving in front of his face. Admittedly, he had to be thankful for his brother's stupidity. It gave him more of a chance.

Whoa. Hold up. What the fuck did his mind just say?

_Admittedly, he had to be thankful for his brother's stupidity. It gave him more of a -_

Damn he needed to get laid.

"Itachi! Table Four!"

Itachi sighed, shaking his head again and messing up his abnormally short hair before he sauntered over to the table, annoyed and flustered.

"Hey, Itachi!" Sakura grinned, looking up at him. He swore fluently under his breath before smirking.

"Sakura," he replied. He hoped his voice was monotonous. She sent him a smile that sent his heart into cardiac arrest. In his mind's eye, he pictured himself punching himself repeatedly in the gut, then kicking him to the ground and kicking him in the ribs repeatedly, never stopping once to show mercy or sympathy. "What can I get you?"

"In bed. Soon," Sakura's friend suddenly spoke up. Itachi looked over at her. She had long blond hair, blue eyes and a sexy smile. It did nothing.

God fucking Damnit, he was screwed.

"Ino!" Sakura gasped, blushing. Ino winked at him.

"Oh lighten up, Sakura. A little flirtatious dialogue never hurt anyone."

"That was very direct fuck-buddy talk, not flirtatious dialogue. I doubt you even know what the word 'dialogue' means!" Sakura shot back. Itachi raised his eyebrows, looking at Ino for her response. Ino gasped.

"I do to! It means. Um...! You bitch!"

"Whore."

"Hag."

"Hobag," Sakura said, sticking out her tongue. It was only at this point in time that Itachi actually realized that they didn't mean what they were saying. Ino giggled and Itachi silently wondered if all girls did this or if he just almost-lived with some freak of nature. The girls shared a good laughing fit after seeing Itachi's clueless and somewhat scared face.

"Anyway, I'll take a hamburger and french fries," Sakura said, handing Itachi her menu. His fingers slipped over hers on accident and he inwardly swore for the millionth time that day. What he wouldn't give to have those fingers all over him.

"Caesar salad," Ino said, giving him another flirty wink while handing him her own menu, her number written on the back. Itachi smirked back, trying desperately to ignore the fact that five weeks ago he would have dragged her out of the diner on sight. Now he wasn't interested. He walked away, vowing to get laid by some one other than Sakura before he went crazy.

--

"He's so into you," Ino declared the minute Itachi was three yards from the table. Sakura raised her eyebrow, not buying it.

"Really?" she asked sarcastically, taking a sip of her ice tea. Ino rolled her beryl eyes.

"Yes, really. I totally just hit on him with no shame and he couldn't take his eyes off you, sweetheart," Ino explained. Sakura scoffed and shone her nails on her scrubs. Ino sighed and continued, determined to get Sakura to realize just how good she had it. "Seriously. Think about this. You live with two heart-breaking-ly delicious guys, and the older one looks at you like he could dip you in chocolate and lick it off inch by inch and love every freaking minute of it more than that pervert Hatake would."

Sakura cringed. Just thinking of the perverted doctor [who also happened to be her mentor during her first few months at work] made her want to puke, especially not that she had an image of him attempting to lick her. She banked the thought aside before scoffing.

"He doesn't look at me like that!" she retorted. Ino scoffed right back in her face.

"And when he doesn't look at you like that, he looks at you like he's a lost puppy. It's almost been a month, Sakura. Have you even tried anything?"

"No!" Sakura suddenly gasp, offended somehow. "I cook and clean and everything for them. But I'm not making the same mistake twice. I loved for three years and I got nothing from it. He didn't even love me back. I've been over him for what you can barely call a year, and you expect me to just hit on his older brother, just like that?" Sakura said, upset.

Ino sighed. She knew how hard her friend had fallen for that raven-haired bastard back in high school when he first ran away from his family. Sakura had taken him in, even though her mother hated him. Sakura dealt with an abusive mother because of him. She'd taken care of him for almost six years now, and now she was taking care of his smoking hot brother, too.

Ino had yet to hear if either one of them ever said thank you, which only made her protective side get the best of her, letting Sakura win the argument at hand.

"Look, I'm sorry, Sakura. I know how tough it was for you. Remember, I was there, so don't bitch at me and say I wouldn't," Ino warned when Sakura opened her mouth. It was quickly closed again. "I just want you to be happy. You haven't dated in forever. I was just hoping you'd find a guy to fool around with," Ino explained, a master plan quickly forming in her head on the spot. "And Itachi's the perfect guy to give you back all the confidence you had before you met Sasuke. You don't have to love the guy, Sak, but I mean, who else are you going to fool around with? Hatake, for Christ's sake?"

Sakura knew Ino had a point, if not many. Fooling around with him didn't require love or affection. If Sakura knew anything about Uchiha men, 'love' was not in their vocabulary. Sakura glanced at Itachi, who was looking at her with eyes that could have melted iron. Okay, so maybe he did send a few signals that he wanted her. It was nothing that should have surprised her. After loving Sasuke for so long, and seeing him every day, not able to get over him entirely, her confidence had taken an exit, stage left. Sakura realized that she'd been staring and shook her head before she sent him a smirk and turned away.

"You have a good point," Sakura murmured, smiling slightly. Ino visibly brightened.

"Good! Because I have a plan on how to get him even hotter for you. You're skipping work tonight and coming with me."

She didn't leave any room for Sakura to argue.


	5. The Beginning of a Long Night

Sakura should have been at home cooking for her Uchiha men, but instead, she was at Ino's apartment, letting her said best friend massacre her face and body in ways that she normally wouldn't stand for a minute.

"Ino, I swear to God, if you made me look like a slut like you did for prom, I'm never going to talk to you again," Sakura threatened, arms crossed as Ino smeared make up over her porcelin skin. She was wearing, at the moment, nothing but her underwear, bra and an over-sized T-shirt that belonged to Ino's roommate, Chouji. Bowling for Soup was blasting from the small speakers on Ino's laptop. The room was a mess, partly due to Ino and mostly due to Chouji's packrat habits, and it smelled like pizza, Febreze and Dove deodarant. Ino had forced Sakura to soak in the bath for an hour and then done Sakura's nails and toenails in a reverse black french manicure style, complaining all the while that, for a massuese, Sakura sure didn't know how to pamper herself once and awhile.

"Ino, I think I can put on my own make up," Sakura said, a little uneasy about letting her (okay, let's admit it), slutty best friend. Ino scoffed.

"Not like I can. Trust me, Sakura. You'll look so good tonight that you'll have to beat off the boys with a stick," Ino said, smirking as she set the make up sponge down and then reached for two Maybelliene Dream Mousse jars. She opened one and tapped a large brush into it. She dusted the blush over Sakura's cheeks before Sakura could do so much as blink.

"I hope not," Sakura laughed. Ino pinched her. "Ow!"

"I told you not to move. It makes this harder," Ino said, still swirling the brush over Sakura's cheekbones. "Close your eyes."

Sakura did as she was told as Ino continued to massacre her face. She felt Ino line her eyes and smear something into her crease. She got a peak of a black cream shadow when Ino ordered her to open her eyes so she could line the bottom lashes. Ino coated expensive-looking mascara on to Sakura's lashes before she could even mention that she had brought her own. Ino slathered clear lip gloss on to Sakura's lips and then stepped back to admire her masterpiece. Her plan was going to work brilliantly. There was no way that Itachi would be able to bank his feelings aside with Sakura looking as amazingly sexy as she did. And Ino was only half finished.

"Well, I finished your make up," Ino said proudly, handing Sakura a mirror and then waiting somewhat nervously as Sakura looked at herself. Sakura's mouth fell open. She looked... different. WAY different. Ino made her eyes look sultry, but in a subtle way. Since Ino had lined her eyes with shadow instead of thick liner, her eyes looked soft and glowing rather than small and crammed with eyeliner like so many other girls seemed to look. Her lashes looked long and full, and were visible even when her head was turned to the side. Her face seemed to glow with flawless foundation that thankfully didn't look caked on, and her cheeks were tinted lightly with a bronzer. She was amazed; slightly because she looked good, and mainly because Ino hadn't made her look slutty.

At least not yet. She had yet to do Sakura's hair and force her into an outfit for their rendez-vous at the local club.

"Alright! You like it!" Ino cried, then squealed with excitement. The noise made Sakura cringe. Ino clapped, bouncing up and down in her seat on the bed before she looked at Sakura's hair and tapped her chin. "Hmmmm, now what to do with that hair of yours... OH! I KNOW!" and with that, Ino rushed into the bathroom and pillaged through bins and bins of her cosmetic products, leaving Sakura to wait uneasily in her chair in front of Ino's bed.

Sakura sighed and looked around. She really should have been at work, or at least cooking the guys dinner. But everyone seemed to want Sakura to go out tonight. Ino demanded that she go, going as far as her workspace and talking to her boss about her absolute lack of a social life and how she deserved a break more than any of the other employees. Normally, this was normal behavoir for Ino and Sakura wouldn't have minded. Much, anyways. However, this time it actually worked. Sakura's boss agreed with every word that left Ino's mouth, and before Sakura knew what was happening, her boss was telling her to go and have fun tonight and to skip work all week because she apparently needed 'a good, long break to get laid'.

Sakura was still deeply flustered by this idea. Just at the thought, her face lit up like a flame, but most of the redness of her flaming blush was covered up by the make up she was wearing. She sighed to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. Whatever Ino was planning, she knew it wasn't going to end well. Ino's plans rarely did.

"I GOT IT!" Ino called out victoriously. She hauled out a small basket of products, pins and a blow dryer as she stumbled rather ungracefully out of her bathroom. Sakura stared at the basket as if it was her own personal version of the deepest, darkest pit of hell. "Oh relax, forehead. It's only some stuff to give you volume and shine. I'm only doing a messy bun, so get the stick out of your butt."

Ino's frank words made Sakura both relax and pout. Ino got to work feverently as Sakura crossed her arms, after all, she still had to do her own make up. She scrunched and dried and fluffed and sprayed and pinned for almost twenty minutes before she was happy with what she had done to Sakura's hair. She stood in front of her and took out a few strands to frame her face, curling them around her finger so that they were wavy and frame her face softly. Ino grinned.

"I am amazing," Ino chided. Sakura rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Mind telling me what I'm going to wear, genius?" Sakura asked, tugging at the massively over-sized T-shirt she was wearing. Ino turned and headed towards the bathroom to do her own make up and hair.

"It's on Chouji's bed. Don't worry, he changed the sheets yesterday, so they won't give you AIDS."

"Gee. Thanks."

"Only looking out for you!" Ino shouted cheerily from the bathroom before its door closed with a soft 'thud'. Sakura sighed and tugged on the clothes, knowing that she wouldn't really have an option of choosing something else. Low riding shredded denim jeans, a silver chain with Sakura's class ring (her own imput), thin, pretty silver bangles and a silky black top with layers of sheer black material and thin spaghetti straps that made Sakura doubt they would hold as she pulled it on. Sakura decided that it was only worth dressing when she knew for sure that Ino was at least half way through with putting her make up on. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. She ran a finger under eyes and touched up the smudged shadow. Sakura wiped off the lip gloss with a kleenex before she applied her own lightly tinted lip balm. She checked her ovrer-all face and decided to rub off a little more of the eyeshadow with the kleenex; she'd never been one to like dramatic eye make up. She added a little blush and then sighed at her reflection. More like herself, less like Ino often liked to make her look like. She grinned in slight triumph before Ino rushed out of the bathroom, already done with her make up, deep smokey purple eyes, nude lips, radiant complexion.

"Wow. That was fast," Sakura mumbled. Ino grinned like the sun.

"The miracles of cream eye shadow. I swear by that stuff. Wait a freaking second... DID YOU CHANGE YOUR MAKE UP?!"

"...Yeah."

"Damnit, woman," Ino sighed, knowing in the back of her mind that they didn't have time to redo her amazing creation. If they were late, Itachi might leave out of disinterest. And the whole point was to get Itachi intrested. If that made any sense. Ino wasn't sure, but she did know that if she and Sakura didn't get dressed and to the club within the next thirty minutes, Ino might miss the one in a million shot for her perfect plan. "Fine. You look good both ways, even if mine was better. Get dressed."

"Why are we in such a hurry, anyways?" Sakura asked, tugging the shirt on gently after wriggling into the jeans. The denim was like a second skin clinging to her thighs, hips, and rear. She blushed. "These are really tight."

"And they make you look smoking hot. You're wearing them," Ino tossed the order over her shoulder as if it was a fact of life. Sakura, not really in the mood to argue anymore, tugged them on the rest of the way and buttoned them. She had to admit, they did feel awfully comfortable for jeans, considering she was used to scrubs or sweats. Ino pulled a silky, slinky purple shirt out and threw it over her torso, braving the Ohio weather braless. Sakura thought she was nuts, but didn't voice her opinion. Instead, she slipped on the necklace and bracelets, then staring at her feet.

"Should I wear my shoes?" Sakura asked curiously, holding up the flats. Ino let out a horrified gasp.

"Are you crazy?! Of course not. Why would you ruin looking smoking hot with ugly shoes?"

"They're not ugly! They're practical and furthermore I-" Sakura was cut off by Ino shoving a pair of black high heels at Sakura. She held them up in front of her face, and the very first thing Sakura thought about was the fact that they looked like they were stolen from a strip club rather then being bought from a normal shoe store. She cringed at the thought of what her feet would feel like later that night.

"Wear them," Ino said, looking Sakura dead in the eyes. Sakura shook her head.

"There is no way."

Ino smirked. "Oh, I have my ways."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Sakura was in the local club, wearing the heels and actually... happy? Maybe she was just laughing at how ridiculous some of the people at the club looked. Girls who were barely legal to drive walked around in stripper heels, halter tops, and tiny skirts. Sakura was tempted to take the lipstick out of her purse and write 'jail bait' a cross their exposed backs. Sakura shrugged out of her black hoodie as some random worker took it away. He walked backwards, looking Sakura up and down before winking at her. It was kind of creepy, the guy really wasn't her type, but it gave her a confidence boost none the less.

"Hey, Forehead, I'm gonna grab us drinks. What do you want?" Ino asked, already scoping out the club for hotties. Sakura rolled her eyes, crossing her arms from the cold air she suddenly felt due to the lack of upper body clothing.

"Bailey's straight up on the rocks. Big glass," Sakura said. What the hell, right? She was out to get trashed and laid anyway. "Please."

"You got it. Look around. I've already spotted five hot ones, two worth stealing from their girlfriends," Ino giggled. Sakura shook her head and strided over to the low couches. It was going to be a long night. Her make up probably wouldn't make it through. She shrugged the thought off, not particulary caring at the moment. Right now, all that made her happy was the bass that made her body vibrate from the sound of the music, a good, straight, ice cold alcoholic beverage and possibly a guy to make out with. Living with two handsome men who didn't do anything with her had gotten to her, even if she hated to admit it. She'd already fallen hard for Sasuke. She promised herself she wasn't going to do the same in Itachi's case.

Then again, that was before she saw him sitting on a coach next to her staring at her like she was a goddess.

"Wow! Hi Itachi! I didn't expect you to be here!" Sakura said, both happy and afraid. Itachi smirked at her.

"The feeling's mutual," he said, louder than normal to be heard over the music. His eyes could have melted iron, the way they were looking at her. He found it hard to concentrate on what she was saying. She looked amazing. Her shirt teased and tortured him to no end with those little, itty bitty straps that he could break in a second. The jeans were killers. If she wore those every day from now on, he might have to get a gun to keep guys away from her, though he was always more into fighting hand to hand for his girl. Itachi's gaze sauntered down as she talked about how Ino dragged her here, but he wasn't paying attention once he caught a glimpse of her shoes. Her shoes. Oh lord, her shoes. Obviously made for sex and nothing else. Certainly not walking, anyways. Her arms were beautifully bare. He wanted to rip off her necklace; the pendant or whatever it was weighed the chain down and hid behind the top of her shirt, basically asking him to look down it and see what was inside. The room had suddenly gone up several degrees, and the way she was looking at him did nothing to cool him off. He would have jumped her then and there if he didn't have a certain amount of decency, and if Ino hadn't invaded on their conversation and shoved a drink towards Sakura. Sakura took a drink, and watching her made Itachi shift uncomfortably.

The jeans had been loose when he bought them, hadn't they?

He watched the girls talk back and forth, but he wasn't really listening. All he could was stare at Sakura and hope to God that he would control himself till he could at least get her alone somewhere private.

It was going to be a long night.


	6. Mistakes

Two hours into the night, a few Baileys and vodkas later, Itachi had Sakura on the dance floor, and things were getting heated. Girls and guys alike stared at the 'couple' in envy. Most guys would have killed to have Sakura wrapped around them like she was with Itachi. Girls would have flashed everyone in Times Square to get Itachi to look at them the way he was at Sakura.

They didn't talk. Sakura had tried before and failed epically. It was kind of hard to talk when a deviously handsome man has his hands everywhere she wanted them. She didn't even tell him her boundries, but he knew them regardless of the fact that they didn't talk except for the most minimal amount of nessicary conversation.

She had her arms wrapped around his neck and he had his hands exploring her waist and hips. Their hips were meshed together. They fit perfectly. It was a dream come true to Itachi. He'd been waiting for this for longer than a month. Sakura, on the other hand...

Well, Sakura was freaking out. But, after all, what would you do if you were grinding heatedly with the man who's brother broke your heart into smitherines? Sakura already knew Ino's answer very well.

Screw his brains out and enjoy every minute of it.

Sakura chewed her lip as they danced. She was thinking too hard, she knew that, but what else could she do? Ino told her to have fun, to not take this seriously. Ino knew what Sakura needed, and what she needed was definitely not a serious relationship. After Sasuke, the very last thing Sakura needed was another Uchiha man breaking her heart. Ino told her to just dance with Itachi and not think about things. To not over analyse. To just let everything melt away. Sakura wished she could do what Ino told her. She wanted to be able to dance with Itachi and not have her entire body on fire with the fact that they were touching or the fact that his breath was hitting her neck in ways that should be illegal. She wanted to be able to be near Itachi and not have this weird feeling of sexual tension in her gut.

But not everyone gets what they want, do they?

* * *

Itachi could have died happy. He had her where wanted her for months: up against him, long, ivory neck only inches away, hips molded into his, hands in his hair. The only difference from this and his dreams were the fact that they were both fully clothed and that there was no wall or bed. When she lost her balance (her alcohol tolerence was low, he realized), he lost it. He had to get her alone. Now.

He dragged her off the dance floor with confusion written all over her face; emerald eyes wide, mouth slightly open. It did nothing to settle his raging hormones. Itachi tugged her by her wrist into the closest available empty room, which happened to be an old, abandoned dressing room from the time when the club used to be a stip joint. He pushed her into the door once it closed, and before she could make anything more than an attempt at breathing, he covered her lush lips with his.

Her hands flew to his hair again; his hands were on either side of her head. He had to lean down, despite the fact that she was in six inch heels. Her knees went weak when he slammed his lips on hers. His lips were smooth and cold from the drinks he'd had. He stayed like that for a moment, Sakura noted, at least twenty seconds on his lips on hers, before things got heated like they'd been on the dance floor. One hand abandoned its previous post and trailed down to her hip, skidding down her side on its way down. He changed the angle of his lips and pushed her body closer to the doro with his own. She was in heaven.

He pulled her up, hands on her ass now. Their mouths opened and his tongue slid into her mouth to meet hers. She nibbled his bottom lip and he gasped, hating himself for it.

"Don't be a tease," he ordered, nipping her lips harshly before his tongue slid back in. She moaned when a battle for dominance ensued. Her legs wrapped around his waist and oh, oh my God, his hands massaged the small of her waist in the most amazing way and-

Wait.

Hold up a minute.

What was she DOING?

She was making out with a guy she barely talked to, in what used to be a changing room for strippers. She was drunk and she knew it and this was so so wrong on so so so many levels. She didn't give a fuck about what Ino or her boss said. She couldn't be doing this. This was wrong. It didn't matter if it felt good. She shouldn't be doing this!

She was freaking out.

She took her legs away from his waist and she swore he almost whined. She ignored it and tore her lips away from his. He decided that kissing down her neck was a logical procession. When she untangled her hands from his hair, he glared up at her. Annoyance and want flashed in his eyes.

She looked away and crossed her arms, head down.

"I-I... should leave. I shouldn't be doing this," she stuttered. Itachi looked at her, not believing what he was hearing. "I'm...going to go," she mumbled awkwardly, opening the door and stumbling out. She grabbed her hoodie from the coat rack. She didn't even attempt to find Ino while she grabbed her keys and started to walk out the door. Her body was still on fire from his touches. Where he'd been kissing her neck tingled. Her spine hummed. Her vision was swimming.

Well, the swimming vision was probably because of the Bailey's.

She knew Itachi was watching her, and she tried her best to ignore it as she walked down the street towards the bus stop.

She looked back, giving in. He was standing outside, staring after her. His stance and his eyes and his aura told her that he was furious, that he wanted to her get her ass back in the club so he could finish what he started. She kept walking/stumbling/tripping towards the bus stop.

The bus ride was short but dramatic. She tried to reason with herself as to why she had freaked out. She couldn't find any reason whatsoever. She'd just freaked. She shook her head as she unlocked the door and walked in. It wasn't until she saw Sasuke sitting on the couch playing video games that she realized the fact that she had walked into the wrong house.

He didn't say anything, he only stared, for the longest time. Sakura didn't move. He got off the couch and walked up to her, close enough that she felt the warmth from his body and then he stared into her eyes.

"You look good tonight," he mumbled. She smiled.

"Thanks," her voice was giggly.

"You want to play video games?"

"..Sure." She said. He took her hand and lead her to the couch. Her worries about Itachi vanished when he smiled at her and sat so close to her on the couch that if she rested her head on his shoulder she'd be totally molded to him...

That was the last thing she remembered before she woke up in Sasuke's bed with a very naked youngest Uchiha, no clothes, his arm around her waist and Itachi standing in the doorway with murder written across his face.


	7. Sakura's Explination

_That was the last thing she remembered before she woke up in Sasuke's bed with a very naked youngest Uchiha, no clothes, his arm around her waist and Itachi standing in the doorway with murder written across his face._

"Oh. My God," Sakura choked, sitting up and clutching the covers to her unclothed chest. The shirt Ino gave her was hanging from Sasuke's ceiling fan, along with the thing that could barely pass as underwear that she wore last night. Her shoes and jeans were at the bottom of the bed, along with Sasuke's wife beater, shorts and boxers. A condom wrapper was next to the bed.

Well, on the brighter side of this situation, at least Sasuke used protection...

Then her eyes found Itachi's, and she could have sworn that her stomach collapsed. He was angrier than ever. She knew she crossed some line that existed, even if they never even talked. She slept with his brother after denying him. She slept with Sasuke even though Itachi had been sending her signals all month. She felt horrible. She felt like a slut, a dirty one at that, she noted, when she was almost too sore to move. Her memories of last night after leaving the club were fuzzy. She remembered how amazing the sex was, however.

God, she felt like a whore.

Sakura wrapped the towel around her petite frame and escaped from Sasuke's bed, leaving him his duvet. He groaned and rolled over to her, eyes squinted. His vision was blurry.

"Sakura, where are you-" his eyes caught Itachi's and the awkward tension in the room immediantly shifted to a murderous one. "Get out of my room, Itachi."

"Hn," was his brilliant reply. He was too mad to care at this point. Once Sakura got in reach, he grabbed her and slammed Sasuke's door. He heard Sasuke cuss him out but he could have cared less. He dragged Sakura into his room and shut the door, locking it for safety. "Explain yourself. Now."

Her body shook in fear of how demanding he was. She bit her lip, trying to gather her thoughts from the past twenty-four hours. She remembered going to the club. She remembered things getting out of hand on the dance floor. She remembered him dragging her into the empty room. She remembered freaking out. She remembered not knowing why she was freaking out. She remembered how mad he was when she left the club. And then the rest, apart from her walking into the wrong house, was a blur of Sasuke and her doing things she normally would have only dreamed of.

"I-" she choked. She wanted to cry so badly, but she refused to let herself. "Where do you want me to start?" she asked after she took in several deep breaths, a trick she used at work when the hospital needed her to remain calm and to the point.

"Why did you freak out last night?" he asked. He knew that asking her why the fuck she slept with his brother after he wanted her for a solid month was a little too straight forward at this point, no matter how badly he wanted to yell at her.

"I... I didn't know what I was doing. It didn't feel... right, to me. I can't explain it," Sakura said, crossing her arms and walking over to his window, peering out into the morning light. "I just... spazzed. I don't know. It didn't feel right. I felt like I was doing something completely wrong. I felt like I was betraying some one."

"And who would that be?" he asked, more venom in his voice than she expected, even though she should have been expecting him to murder her with the closest available weapon for being the dirty whore that she was.

She thought hard about it. Why _had _she felt that way last night? Was it because of her lack of experience with men? Was it because of her nervousness around him? She knew neither of those would have stopped her if there hadn't been one person in the way...

"Sasuke. I felt like I was betraying Sasuke," she said, tears falling from her eyes. Itachi's anger rose ten-fold, but he tried to remain calm.

"Why? You've never been together," he scoffed. He wanted to punch himself now. That came out _great. _

"I've loved him since the day he showed up on my doorstep when we were fourteen!" Sakura shot back, anger now very clear in her voice, more so than his. "I've pined for him to love me back since freshman year. He never thought of me that way until I walked into your house last night. I was hammered, I walked into the wrong house, and he was sitting there playing video games. He asked me if I wanted to play and that's the last thing I remember. I don't even think he loves me at all. I know he was just using me for a quick fuck. I'm in love with him Itachi, but I'm not stupid!"

She was facing him now, eyes demanding and hard on his. Demanding his understanding. He didn't have any. She continued. "I know that I'm a whore. I know that it was wrong for me to act that way to you when you tried to express how you felt at the club. I know I'm the equivalent of a dirty whore right now. I know you should slap me. I want to slap myself. But I'm sorry. I can't get over him, Itachi. Not after so many years of being with him. I tried to get over him. Last year I thought I was, even a month ago, I was fine. I told myself that, anyway. But last night..." she trailed off, turning back to the window, "last night ruined all my efforts of getting over him. Every. Single. One."

Itachi stared hard at her back. Why was she being so foolish. Love was stupid, a waste of time. How could she do this to him in the name of her love for some one else? She saw his confused stare in the reflection of the glass.

"Don't tell me you've never loved anyone before," Sakura said, looking at him. Itachi shook his head. Sakura sighed, anger apparent but she kept it inside well.

"If you've never loved, I can't really expect you to understand, I guess." She sighed, defeated. "I don't really expect you to talk to me ever again. I understand if you want to slap me. But right now, I think I'm just going to grab some clothes and leave."

Five minutes later, Sakura was out of his house. Sasuke was in his room, head in his hands while he sat on his bed redressed. He heard everything Sakura had said. And he knew she was right. He saw the way Itachi had been looking at her. He saw the way Itachi talked to her. It was obvious how Itachi felt about Sakura, even if Itachi himself failed to understand said feelings. Sasuke should have never taken advantage of her like that. While the morning light blinded his eyes and his head pounded from knowing how big he had fucked up, a plan formed deep in the back of his head.

And that plan was to get Sakura to love Itachi no matter what.


End file.
